But You Will Remember Me For Centuries
by a kiss of winter
Summary: All Steven ever knew about his mother were the stories that his father and the Gems had told him, but finally, after so long, he has proof on what kind of beautiful person his mother really was. [oneshot]


_**author's note: **The feelings that this show gives me is not normal. So here's some bittersweet fluff._

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><p><em><strong>-xoxo-<strong>_

_**But You Will Remember Me For Centuries**_

_**-xoxo-**_

Steven could hear the Gems arguing from a mile away. As he made his way up the hill, he made guesses as to why they were yelling; maybe Amethyst did something stupid again, or perhaps Garnet accidentally broke an ancient relic (she did that once and refused to admit it). Pearl never did anything that bad, but she had a bad temper, so there was the probability she got fussy over nothing. Steven almost didn't want to enter the cabin ... however, when his name was mentioned, he was more than intrigued.

He rolled onto the porch, and peered into the window, trying to remain stealthy in a not-so-secretive manner.

The Gems were bickering about something, and Pearl was holding an old VHS in her hands, trying to keep it away from Garnet and Amethyst, who seemed to be battling against her.

"He doesn't need to see this yet!" Pearl defended.

"Dude, the tape says we had to give it to him on his tenth birthday," Amethyst said, with a halfhearted shrug. "So what if it's late? He's supposed to watch it."

Pearl hesitated, and stared at the tape. "But... he might not understand that-"

Garnet crossed her arms. "Rose said so," she declared.

That was enough to make Pearl tick. "Well, Rose isn't here!" she exclaimed with exasperation. "We're Steven's legal guardians now, so we need to keep him safe, and if it means keeping secrets, then so be it!" She huffed, and rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is that perhaps we should wait a while before we give it to him."

Garnet let out a soft groan. "Pearl, we keep enough secrets from him," she muttered.

"Yeah!" Amethyst said, with a fist pump.

Pearl shook her head. "I still don't think that we should-" She let out a yelp as Amethyst dived forward, reaching for the tape. "Hey! Garnet, keep her off of me!"

However, Garnet took a step back, silently stating that she wasn't going to get in the way.

Obviously, it meant that Pearl and Amethyst were left in the yelling match; with Pearl holding the tape out of Amethyst's reach, and Amethyst trying to tackle Pearl to the ground.

Steven didn't like this one bit. What did his mom have to do with anything? Why was he involved with it? What the heck was on that tape anyway - some kind of dark Gem history? Now that he had heard about it, he wanted to know about it more than ever. Besides, a small part of him always felt hurt when the Gems avoided telling him certain things about his mother. As far as he knew, Rose Quartz was a mystery, and it wasn't fair.

Before he could even think twice, Steven found himself entering the cabin.

All three of the Gems stared at him nervously, and an awkward silence echoed through the living quarters.

Of course, Garnet was the one to speak up-

"You saw all of that, didn't you?" she said.

"Um," Steven kicked the hardwood and gave a small nod. "Uh, yeah."

"Oh, I told you we shouldn't have argued about this!" Pearl groaned. Soon after she finished her sentence, Amethyst finally managed to pin her onto the floor. "Get off of me!"

Amethyst laughed out loud and snatched the tape. "Victory!" she cheered. "Hey, Steve-o, catch!" She threw the tape over, ignoring Pearl's protest not to do so.

Steven clumsily caught the VHS, staring at it for a minute. The title was written in scribbled handwriting, with the pink Sharpie worn out and barely readable. He could make out a heart, a star and a U, but the rest was blurred out. It took a few seconds for him to realize it, but the pieces in his mind clicked; that was his mother's handwriting.

He had never had anything of hers before; except for a few pictures, the laser light cannon, and of course, the gem he inherited.

This was something new...

"What is it?" he asked.

"Well," Pearl let out a soft groan as she got to her feet. "It's a tape that your mother made for you before you were born." She glared at Amethyst. "_Someone_ was supposed to give it to you when you turned ten, but she lost it in that cesspool she calls a room."

Amethyst blew a lock of hair out of her face, not even bothering to answer the statement.

Pearl stammered, and wrung her hands over one another. "But you don't have to watch it, not if you aren't ready-"

Steven looked up, with a wide smile. "I'm ready, I'm ready!" he beamed. "Please, please, please, can I watch it?"

Pearl sighed. "I figured you would say that," she mumbled. "I suppose, if you want-"

"I'll go get the player," Garnet spoke up.

"Don't encourage them!" Pearl groaned, as she gestured to Steven and Amethyst.

Steven didn't understand why Pearl blushed when Garnet smirked, but he was too busy marveling over the tape in his hands. He followed the Gems up the stairs to the small secondary floor, and he plopped himself down onto his bed while Garnet plugged in the ancient VCR player. Steven's thoughts were racing as he kept his eyes glued onto the tape, and every single possibility in his mind was swirling around. What if his mother was going to send him on an awesome mission to save humanity? Or would she tell him all of the awesome Gem history? He would even be satisfied with a story about an awesome adventure or prophecy or whatever.

Who was he kidding? He was happy to have anything with her.

He eagerly got up, and slid the tape in once the VHS was hooked up to the television and he sat down right in front of the screen, watching it buzz to life.

There were some fuzzy moments; Steven saw a blur of pink, laughter and a voice that sounded like Pearl's saying that human contraptions were impossible to work. Finally, he saw his mother.

...all of the pictures his father had were worn out, cracked or taped together, looking as if they had gone through hell and back. But now, Steven had a crystal clear picture of the woman he had heard so much about, yet knew very little of.

A soft murmur of amazement slipped past his lips and he edged even closer if that was possible.

"Yo, is this thing on?" another voice said.

"Hey, that's me!" Amethyst spoke up, with a laugh. She slightly shoved Steven over and smirked when she saw other figures in the background. "Man, Pearl, you looked like a loser back then."

"Oh, hush you," Pearl huffed. "So did you."

"I did not! I looked totally awesome," Amethyst boasted. She suddenly busted a gut laughing when she noticed someone else shuffle by briefly. "Garnet, dude, you were terrible. Remember what I used to say? How the disco days called and wanted their look back?"

Garnet released a silent groan, holding her face in her hands.

Steven shushed them all, and waved his hands for dramatics when he noticed his mother laugh-

-she had the sweetest laugh. Just like a bell.

"Hi there," Rose said softly.

"H-hey," Steven stammered. "Guys! Guys, it's my mom! It's Rose, she's real!"

Pearl laughed. "We know, Steven, we-" He yelled over to be quiet and kept his eyes glued on the television.

Rose fiddled with her long, shimmering pink and crimson curls, nervously trying not to look in the camera. She smoothed down her skirt, then cleared her throat. "Sweetheart, by the time that you see this video, I will be long gone," she murmured. It was evident that she tried to sound hopeful, in that sweet, calming tone of voice she had. "You'll be out, living your life, and all you'll know is the stories that your aunts Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst will tell you."

"I'm not gonna take care of a crying brat!" a voice, clearly Amethyst's, screamed in the background.

"I was stupid back then!" Amethyst retorted; as if the video could hear her.

"You're stupid now," Pearl grumbled.

Rose laughed; a real, loud genuine laugh. "Don't listen to her, honey," she said. "She'll love you someday. Anyway, the reason you won't know me is because-" She hesitated, and frowned. "Gems shouldn't be affiliated with mortals, so-"

Pearl shot to her feet, and reached forward, pausing the tape. "I think we've watched enough for a day!" she blurted out. "Steven, don't you want to watch the new Dogcopter instead of that boring old tape your mother left you? I'll take you and Connie to the movie theater right now! How about we all go together? Family outing, yeah?" She stammered, and stuttered, trying to find any possible excuse, but Garnet got up, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

With a small lower of her shades, Garnet raised an eyebrow. That seemed to be enough to get Pearl to shut up.

She hesitantly sat back on the bed, and Steven instantly put the video back on, feeling a bit disgruntled. He knew that Pearl was just looking out for him, but sometimes, she worried way too much...

"-I'm sorry," Rose continued. "But the other Gems are after me. So you might not be accepted immediately, and that's okay. Because you need to know that you have a lovely family; your father, of course, and your honorary aunts, no matter how silly, uptight or angry they can be."

"She meant you," Amethyst said, as she snickered at Garnet, who materialized her gauntlets at the comment. "Told ya."

Pearl glared at the both of them and spread her arms out to keep them apart.

Rose's smile was radiant. Steven wanted to take a picture of her right now; a really, really nice one. So he could always see her pretty, smiling face and feel better about the world. Because now he had proof that Rose Quartz was not just a story; she was real at one time. She loved him, even before he was born. Sure, he knew the stories about how compassionate she was, but he was finally witnessing it, in a way.

"Whether you want to fulfill your destiny as a Gem - if you inherit my powers, that is - or stay as a mortal, whatever you choose, I'll know... somehow," she said. "I don't know how the afterlife works. I'll be watching over you, though."

She paused, and looked back, listening to the chaos of the other Gems. Yup, Steven realized; it was definitely them. He heard Pearl's voice screaming at Amethyst and Garnet was trying to calm them down.

Rose giggled. "They'll grow up someday," she assured. She blew a kiss, and her dazzling smile was back, in all of it's glory. "Love you, honey. May you grow up to be perfect, in whatever way you want."

And then, the tape went to black.

Steven crossed his arms, watching the television fade out. He couldn't believe it; he had just watched his mother, back when she was living, breathing, and beautiful inside and out. So many emotions coursed through his veins and soul, but finally, a single tear slid down his cheek as he smiled wide. As he looked up, and saw his reflection in the television screen, he noticed something.

"Hey, you guys," he said softly. "Do you think I have the same smile as my mom?"

Pearl's expression softened, and she breathlessly laughed. "It's identical," she murmured.

Cheeky, sweet, lopsided, goofy. The same grin as his mother, undoubtedly.

_"May you grow up to be perfect, in whatever you want,"_ she had said.

"Ok, Mom," he whispered, almost inaudibly. "I promise."

_**~ la fin ~**_

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><p><em><span><strong>author's note:<strong> Fall Out Boy reference, implied Pearl x Garnet shipping if you squint (shut up they're totally canon) and stuff with Rose because I'm awesome. All in all, a decent first fic, I would say. My wish is that Rose Quartz would be voiced by Nicole Oliver, who does a wonderful soft, motherly voice that I think would fit perfectly, but whatever you think in your head is cool. I hope I got everyone in character._

_If you liked this story, please let me know what you thought with a review :)._

_Fun fact: the old looks Amethyst was referring to were the outfits the Gems had in the pilot. I thought it would be fun to include them._


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